Cuomo still opposed to New York mobile sports betting

New YorkGovernor, Andrew Cuomo, is reportedly sticking to his guns having recently reiterated his opposition to mobile sports betting in the Empire State.

According to a Monday interview with radio network WAMC‘s Alan Chartock, Governor Cuomo minimized the potential effect of sports betting on the northeastern state and more or less trivialized the amount of revenue that neighboring New Jersey has brought in from sports wagering.

“$13 million dollars is a rounding error in our state“

Tax revenue minimal:

Governor Cuomo communicated that the actual tax revenue realized by its neighbors’ governmental coffers was minimal.

“Sports betting, first of all, does not make you that much money, Cuomo said in the Monday interview.

“New Jersey has sports betting, it’s on TV all the time. You can’t turn on the darn TV without seeing it. They raised something like $13 million dollars – $13 million dollars is a rounding error in our state. So I don’t even think the economic benefit is there,” added Cuomo.

Upward trajectory:

Since launching in mid-June, the sports betting handle has been on an upward trajectory in the Garden State. And the state now hosts 13 sportsbook apps alone.

YTD haul:

According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) (pdf), for the first two months of 2019 (through Feb.), the industry’s total gaming revenue was $470.8 million and sports wagering gross revenue accounted for $31.5 million of that.

“you can’t turn on the darn TV without seeing it“

February’s retail (on-site) sports wagering handle was $61,496,490, while the online/Internet take was more than triple that at $258,871,597, according to the DGE.

Amendment concerns:

Cuomo, along with other state officials, has contended an amendment to the state constitution would be needed in order for mobile NY sports wagering to be legal. And revenue from sports wagering was left out of the budget proposal introduced by him on January 24, 2019, at a joint budget hearing, according to a recent report.